timfromohio said:
I used to drive an F150 - the cheapest one made: V6, short bed, regular cab, 5spd, 1wd.
Sounds about the same here, 99 V6 short bed, regular cab, 5sp, but mine is 4x4. Also only XL package, non of that super fancy stuff like power windows! And its still going strong. I forget what the actual load rating is and ride height is skewed with my taller blocks anyhow. I have a cap on it and a few times I've put plywood up against the windows in the cap and loaded it up, not all the way to the roof of the cap but maybe another foot above the bed rails. The last row was pretty much empty though, to leave space for my bag and gear and stuff. Handled just fine, and even went off the road around a corner into a ditch when someone coming the other way on a narrow dirt road kinda forced me off. Luckily was able to drive right back up onto the road, though the wife was kinda shaken up with branches whacking the windshiled right infront of her! Had I not had the cap on, I bet I would have lost several rounds when I hit the ditch though.
I still take the 150 when I want to drive back into the woods. Never got that thing stuck off road yet. Here I am getting some wood last winter:
Its amazing what just a little 2" lift and some slightly bigger mudders can do.
jotul8e2 said:
But really, there are three issues in overloading a pickup. 1) Braking; 2) Premature wear on your bearings (which you will only learn about later); 3) The results of your load shifting under hard braking (or a collision) and coming through the cab. The consequences of a 15 lb. split coming through the back window at, say, 25 mph is something to think about.
1]Braking should just be common sense... as you'll rarely ever load wood up in a truck more than it can handle braking - I mean most half tons today can tow 5,000-to nearly 10k #. In a short bed heaped your probably looking at 3,000 or less for sure. Yeah you'll need more distance for braking but it should be well within specs loaded or overloaded.
2]I agree entirely and if you plan on overloading a 1/2 t a lot, plan on getting a truck that was built for it (3/4, 1t etc). Half ton bearings and joints arent designed for the extra stress.
3]Again that should be common sense whether your overloaded, properly loaded, or just carrying your saw and axe in the back. Regardless of 1/2t or 1t. Any object in the back can be a projectile. Unless you have it all netted down, and attached to something a lot tougher than the factory tie downs, about the only other good protection against that is a headache rack. In my 150 I do at least have a few layers, the truck window, the cap window, and the boards I put over the window. On my 1 ton I built my own rack and there are 3 2x6's across the back window with maybe an inch or so of space between them.
Personally the biggest thing I'd be concerned about is your tires. You'll probably have D rated tires at best, unless you swapped em up. For a reasonable load you should be fine but I'm sure the 1/2t Dodge with 3800# in it was over a D rated tire. Bad things happen when you blow a tire loaded with that much weight including killing people, you dont want to kill a couple of kids and their grandparents on there way back from church or something (or anyone of course). I overload my 1 ton and trailer every now and then and I do get nervous... wouldnt be a big deal by myself on a country road with no traffic but I drive on the highway with my wife and son. The e rated tires get a little warm, but the trailer tires get very warm... I'll be upgrading those.
Although I was doing only about 45 when I came over the hill, it was amazing to me how long it took to even begin to slow down. I booted that Camero into the next county.
